The Promise
by Knoxdiver
Summary: This is a oneshot about the relationship between two best friends, Allie and Sam. See my author's note for more details.


Author's note Originally this was supposed to be a fanfic about Cedric Diggory from Harry Potter (you'll probably get that from the descriptions of the characters), but I had to write a story for school so I changed it around a little. I hope you enjoy it and remember: always leave reviews! Happy reading!

The call came suddenly, startling Allie out of a fitful doze with ringing that she had alternately hoped and dreaded to hear. It was with the second emotion that she reached her trembling fingers toward the receiver and picked it up.

"Hello?" Allie inquired faintly. She listened to the voice on the other end. The phone shook violently and slipped from her fingers, which had gone numb. It seemed Allie's entire body had gone numb. She felt as if she'd just consumed an entire slurpee because she couldn't think. She was sure her heart had iced over until it eventually became an icicle beating in her chest.

Allie wasn't sure how long she sat there, hardly breathing, not thinking, not feeling. All she remembered was that when the next morning dawned bright and beautiful, she awoke in her bed. Daring to hope, the girl leapt from her bed, raced down the hall, and flew down the stairs.

She came skidding to a halt on the cold tile in the kitchen before a tall, handsome boy asleep by the table. The boy's dark brown hair had fallen over his eye in his dreams, and Allie, not wanting to disturb his peaceful slumber, hesitated before she reached out and gently shook his warm shoulder, calling his name softly.

"James…James, wake up. I had the most awful dream," she whispered.

James stirred and opened his eyes, twin emeralds that were framed by his thick dark lashes. He smiled sleepily at Allie; then, taking her hand, he motioned her to the chair next to him. She sat and listened to him intently as he spoke.

Allie! I'm glad you're awake. You had us worried last night when we came in. Are you okay?" he asked.

"Oh, James! I'm fine, really, but you won't believe the crazy dream I had," she answered readily.

"It wasn't a dream, Allie…." he tenderly cautioned, his voice low and soothing.

Ignoring the warning, Allie giggled. "Silly goose, of course it was! I dreamt that Sam was hurt, and I got a phone call telling me he-he died." Her voice faltered, and Allie paused before continuing in a much higher pitch. "Th-that's the c-craziest d-dream I-I-I've ever h-had." She choked, and hot tears poured from her sorrowful hazel eyes, splashing on her cheeks.

"Allie," sighed James, rising from his chair.

"Inconsolable, Allie sobbed, "Why did he have to go? Why couldn't it have been me? Why can't I go too? I don't want to be alive if Sam's gone. I want Saaaaaam"

James pulled Allie to his chest. "Shhhh, it'll be okay," he murmured against her chestnut hair. "It's okay. I'm here. Shhhh."

After a while Allie raised her head, her cheeks and James' sweater both left tear-stained. She sniffed softly.

"I'm sorry…"

"Hey, it's okay. I needed to was this thing anyway. Are you feeling any better?" he asked?

"No. I don't think I'll ever feel better."

"Sure you will," answered a female voice coming from the door.

Allie and James turned toward the source. A slender girl with slightly disheveled light brown hair and pale blue eyes stared back at them. She was accompanied by a skinny boy with short red hair and warm brown eyes.

"Hi Katherine; hi Paul," James and Allie chorused.

"Um, Allie?" Paul said slowly. "Everybody is waiting for us at the Masterson's, and they sent us to come get you. Do you want to come?"

"Come on, Allie; Sam's mom told me to tell you that she really wants to see you," James stated.

Nodding her consent, Allie followed the three outside.

A few days later, as she walked through her backyard, Allie contemplated the visit to her best friend's house and the funeral that had been held the day after that. She hadn't known it was possible to cry that much in such a short period of time.

_That sucked_. She thought. _I wasn't ready._

"I wasn't ready!" The words and her anger burst from her as if she were a balloon filled with too much air. Her deflated self couldn't keep the truth in; it too escaped her lips: "I'm not ready…." That knowledge had been festering inside her for months. She had known the outcome for weeks; she had known that this would happen. Still, she felt so unprepared, so alone, as she repeated her mantra. "I'm not ready…"

Allie walked for hours over the acres that she and Sam had explored millions of times. She tried not to think of him but succeeded about as well as a fish can not think of water. Instead, she tried to think about James, Kat, and Paul. The trio had taken care of her. They were her friends, but Allie felt she didn't know them at all. Not like she had known Sam.

Sam and Allie became best friends the moment they met, which had been when Allie was born, even though Sam was already two. Their parents were best friends and neighbors so Sam went to the hospital with his parents to say hello. Sam's mom picked him up to show him baby Allie. With an unimaginable tenderness Sam leaned down and gave Allie a kiss. The two were inseparable from then on.

Sunrise to sunset Allie and Sam, playing the simple games of childhood, ran from his house to hers and back again. The precocious duo continued this way for years until Sam's family moved to a new house a few neighborhoods over, but even that couldn't stop them. Their numerous groundings from sneaking out proved that.

Both were only children, though there was a remarkable difference in the ways they handled it. Sam had tons of pets and was incredibly popular at school whereas Allie was a loner, which was the way she liked it. Sure she had friends from school and was also considered popular, but Allie wasn't ever really close to anyone there. Of course, Allie didn't believe that being with Sam was like being with other people; to Allie Sam was part of her.

Even so, as they got older, Allie and Sam changed. They slowly let others into their lives. Where only Sam had been before, Allie now had Jake, her puppy, as well as James, Kat, and Paul. Likewise Sam had the guys on the soccer team and Kim.

_Kim_. The name left a sour taste in Allie's mouth During the last few months Sam hadn't spent much time with Allie. Yeah, they still had movie and bowling night every week, but gone were the long hours that they spent sitting together, sometimes not even speaking; just being together was enough. Had been enough, anyway. Now Sam had Kim so he surrendered most of his time with Allie in order to be with his girlfriend. Allie resented Sam for his attention to Kim, whom she likewise resented for popping up in conversation and often in person during Allie's limited time with Sam. And then Sam got sick.

It happened both gradually and rapidly at the same time. Sam started missing school, at first just a day here and a day there. Allie managed to convince herself that he was fine, but there was something in the pit of her stomach that made her unsure. Maybe it was because Sam began to look thin, pale, and fragile; his cheeks hollowed and his once bright eyes dimmed and became surrounded by perpetual purple circles. It could have been because Allie caught her parents whispering at night behind closed doors. Maybe it was the hushed phone calls to the Mastersons, or perhaps it was that one time that Sam yelled at her at school, something he'd never done, even in private. Maybe it was Sam's quitting track and soccer. No matter what the sign, it frightened Allie.

Finally Allie's parents told her the truth. Sam had cancer, and he was dying. There was nothing anybody could do. Looking back, Allie regretted her two week-long silent treatment of Sam, though he told her he understood and that he even deserved it for not telling her himself sooner. Allie's only comfort was that she learned before Kim, who passed out in her lasagna at school upon hearing the news. The next day Allie unkindly informed Kim that she looked good in red and should wear it more often. Sam, always the middle man in the girls' arguments, gave Allie a disappointed and tired glance and led Kim away before she could respond.

That was the real problem: Sam never understood why Allie and Kim didn't get along. Allie knew, though, and so did Kim. Allie had been in love with Sam ever since the day he put an earthworm in her hair at the age of seven. Kim sensed Allie's feelings and actively prevented Allie-Sam time. She succeeded in causing arguments over trivial matters between the two best friends, and though they reconciled (Sam always apologized first), their friendship was never the same after that.

Allie paused her reflections when she reached the maple tree where Tommy Vandergriff had married them the day after the earthworm incident. Sam had promised Allie to always let her play with his army tank first, and she had vowed to always give Sam the last chocolate chip cookie. Tommy commanded that they kiss, but the facetious pair refused and threw more earthworms at the unsuspecting 'preacher'. She smiled as she remembered that was also the exact spot of their first kiss when Sam was fourteen and Allie was twelve.

Allie was so caught up in her recollections that she didn't notice the tall boy sitting in the swing that was hanging from the largest branch on the Statuesque tree. He stood and walked over next to her.

"That was a great day, wasn't it?" he asked mischievously, his steel gray eyes sparkling in the sunlight.

Allie jumped but quickly recovered.

"You broke your promise, though. You gave me the ambulance not even five minutes later," she replied, laughing.

"So did you. I got oatmeal raisin for snack time." He smiled. "I didn't want chocolate chip anyway."

"Liar."

Silence spread as they walked on over the vast expanse of Allie's lawn. Trying to contain herself, Allie fidgeted.

Finally, "Why are you here, Sam? _How_ are you here?"

"I couldn't leave without saying good-bye," he said simply. "You mean too much to me for me to just up and go."

"But you and I don't believe in saying good-bye. Remember?"

Sam sighed. "Allie…this is it. I'm only here for a little while, then I have to go. I can't stay, as much as I want to. This has to be good-bye."

"Oh, right. You probably still want to say _good-bye_ to your precious _Kim_," Allie retorted, her words laced with sarcasm. Unable to look at his face, she turned away.

Sam stared at her back from underneath his dark eyebrows which were furrowed with agitation.

"Allie, _no_! I came to see _you_, to talk to _you_. Give me some slack. This is my last chance to talk to you, and I need to tell you some things before I go." He shrugged. "This is as final as it gets."

Allie slowly turned to face Sam.

"Here. I want you to have this." Sam grabbed her hand and placed a large silver ring with a luminous blue stone on her open palm.

Allie gazed at Sam's father's class ring, which he'd worn every day since he'd turned twelve. She slipped it on her finger, but the heavy band slid right off.

"I guess I'll put it on a chain."

"I want you to keep it with you so that you'll remember me."

"But, Sam, I'll never forget you," she whispered. "I don't think I could if I tried."

"Me neither, Al." Sam paused. "I-I love you. I've loved you ever since I first saw that great big old bald head of yours."

Allie started to say something, but Sam shook his head and continued his speech. "You were my best friend. And then one day you changed. Suddenly you were all grown up, and I felt so stupid around you. I thought we had all the time in the world and then…. I should have told you before….before all this happened. I know I don't even have the right to tell you this, but I guess I'm just selfish. I want you to remember me. I mean, I still want you to have a good life and not miss out on anything because of me. I want you to do everything that everybody else does. Go to prom. Graduate. Have a family. I just want you to do all that for me. Okay?"

"How can I? I'll miss you too much!" she cried.

"Just know that I'll miss you ten times more, but I'll always be with you. You can count on that."

They walked to the edge of the lake that bordered Allie's yard. Sam reached down and took Allie's hand in his. His fingers were so warm that Allie could almost believe that he was still alive.

"Promise me, Allie."

"I..I promise."

He smiled down at her. "That's my girl."

The couple looked across the lake. They stood motionless that way, fingers entwined, for a long time, but still nowhere near long enough for either of them. Allie didn't want it to end. She dreaded it but knew it would come, like the phone call.

Sure enough: "Allie, I've got to go."

She sniffed and nodded. "I know."

"Don't worry. This isn't really good-bye. It's more like, good-bye for now. We'll see each other soon. Well hopefully not _that_ soon, but you know what I mean. I love you."

Suddenly Allie found herself alone by the lakeside. She remained there until the sky and the water both blazed with twin fires of the setting sun. Sam's words echoed in her head: "Remember me."

Allie answered resolutely before heading back to the warmth of her home and her life.

"I promise."


End file.
